I call this episode Iroh's mid-life crisis. That's how I explain the creepy Junroh scenes and the perfume stealing. I enjoyed the introduction of June and Bato, though. I think they make up for MidLifeCrisis!Iroh.

I checked out of curiousity and found that this episode was written by Ian Wilcox - it's the only Avatar episode he's ever written. I think that explains a lot. Just look at all the loopholes people find in Jet - that episode was written by a one-time writer, too. I guess these guys don't really check to make sure they're entirely in key with the plot.

Overall, it's a decent episode. It's not a favorite, but it's not my least favorite either. It could have been a lot worse.

EDIT: Forgot to mention:Loved that part - it always makes me laugh.

« Last Edit: Dec 14, 2010 12:02 pm by Pants Are An Illusion »

Logged

Graphics by Pebs. :3Keeper of Sozin and Roku's matching beards and the gap in Meng's teeth. <3

I checked out of curiousity and found that this episode was written by Ian Wilcox - it's the only Avatar episode he's ever written. I think that explains a lot. Just look at all the loopholes people find in Jet - that episode was written by a one-time writer, too. I guess these guys don't really check to make sure they're entirely in key with the plot.

This one didn't have any loopholes in it like jet, it very consistent with the story.

Out of character? I think that's a little unfair. Iroh's infatuation with June may have been a little much, but you've got to remember, the guy is single, and has been on a ship full of greasy men for at least two years, only visiting a village every so often to restock on supplies. Seeing a hot girl might've had some kind of effect on him. He acted like a dolt, sure, but some men are just like that. I still remember that scene from Cool Hand Luke, with those prisoners howling like idiots over the first woman they saw...

I'm not saying that Iroh is that kind of guy, and if he composes himself better later, then that's just that. But, you also have to remember that this is pretty much the first time we've actually SEEN Iroh interacting with women, so the writer didn't really have anything to go off of as far as how Iroh acts around them. If anything, that was Mike and Bryan's job as supervisers, to say "hey, you've got a nice idea with June and Iroh, but could you please tone it down a little"?

As for Iroh stealing perfume, that didn't really strike me as out of character. Iroh has been proven to have a sneaky side in Episode 7 (how he outwitted his captors twice), and is kind of like a child at heart. Him stealing a little perfume here, to me, was kind of on the same level as altering Zuko's course without his permission just to replace his Lotus Tile in Episode 9.

That's a nice idea on Iroh's midlife crisis by the way. As a matter of fact, just how old is Iroh anyway? I always figured he was about 60 to 70 years old.

Out of character? I think that's a little unfair. Iroh's infatuation with June may have been a little much, but you've got to remember, the guy is single, and has been on a ship full of greasy men for at least two years, only visiting a village every so often to restock on supplies. Seeing a hot girl might've had some kind of effect on him. He acted like a dolt, sure, but some men are just like that.

Fair enough. I guess it seems more out of the blue than out of character. We never get to see Iroh interact with another girl June's age, with June's looks, whom he has no ties to, so it's impossible to know if his reaction is strictly out of charcter. I do still think that it's a little over the top, though. It seemed...random. But as you said, some men are just like that. I would have never pegged it on Iroh though. Suddenly his surprise at Smellerbee being a girl takes on a whole new, disturbing, weird tone.

Anyway, no matter how creepy it is, it's nice to see Iroh have some sort of flaw-like characteristic. It also leads me to wander what kind of opinion he has of Mai. Proud of his nephew's catch?

As for Iroh stealing perfume, that didn't really strike me as out of character. Iroh has been proven to have a sneaky side in Episode 7 (how he outwitted his captors twice), and is kind of like a child at heart. Him stealing a little perfume here, to me, was kind of on the same level as altering Zuko's course without his permission just to replace his Lotus Tile in Episode 9.

Maybe he was planning on giving the perfume to June as a gift.

Stealing the perfume didn't seem as out of character to me as it did mid-life crisis-ish. It was just one of those iffy parts that hinted towards an inexperienced (in Avatar) writer. At least to me anyway. I would've actually liked to see more of Iroh snatching up little trinkets here and there throughout the series. Kleptomaniac!Iroh would've been an interesting concept to explore - those sleeves of his would have certainly come in handy.

I find it interesting that Bato mentioned that ice dodging was done by all young Water Tribe members, not just boys. They go when they're fourteen, right? I wonder if Hakoda would take Katara and Sokka after the war, even though Bato already did.

Logged

Graphics by Pebs. :3Keeper of Sozin and Roku's matching beards and the gap in Meng's teeth. <3

^That's what I assumed, until I realized he only said "members". It makes me have the wishful thought that maybe girls can go, too. I think it would be cool for them to have the option of going, at least.

Logged

Graphics by Pebs. :3Keeper of Sozin and Roku's matching beards and the gap in Meng's teeth. <3

My friend just got into this Episode. He didn't like it, nor the previous. (He definitely liked the Storm and the Blue Spirit), I'm begging to him at the moment to stay until the finale. But to be honest, I also didn't like this episode much, it's okay but not that good.

Mainly it's that the core conflict here was driven by the main characters acting like jerks. Well, mostly Aang but katara and Sokka have their moments here too.

So Aang basically gets third wheel treatment and becomes jealous of Katara and Sokka's relationship with Bato. Then he steps out and they have that frustrating moment when aang just happens to be out of earshot they start saying exactly what he wanted and needed to hear. Then he acts like a jerk in hiding the map to their fricking *father*, and then once he reveals the truth, Sokka and Katara decide to abandon him. Of course they never really leave him and it all works out in the end, but up until then... aargh.

The only bright spot here is Jun. I love her look,i love that thing that she rides on, and I thought it was very clever to have that creature "see" by smelling. Oh, and Jun has this super cool and confident personality, which I myself find quite attractive.